Exemplary embodiments herein generally relate to a load-carrying bed system and construction for a vehicle, and more particularly relate to bed corrugations provided in a vehicle's load carrying bed.
Vehicles having load-carrying beds (e.g., pickup trucks) are commonly used to facilitate transportation of cargo items from one location to another, such as through placement of cargo items in the bed. While such vehicles are available in many sizes and configurations, a typical load-carrying bed vehicle includes a bed floor that can support cargo, such as lumber, rocks, groceries and/or other items. A typical load-carrying bed also includes a headboard structure and side walls to help restrain cargo within the bed. Sometimes a tailgate or other closure is provided along an open end of the bed (i.e., the end opposite the headboard).
To reduce damage to the load-carrying bed (e.g., scratching, dents, etc.) and to the cargo carried therein, bed liners are sometimes used in association with load-carrying vehicle beds. A typical bed liner is formed of plastic or some type of resinous material and overlays the load-carrying bed. In one configuration, the liner is formed of essentially two pieces: a first piece overlaying the bed floor and wrapping over the headboard and the sidewalls, and a second piece covering an inside surface of the tailgate. More recently, the vehicle bed itself is formed at least in part from plastic or some other type of resinous material obviating the need for a separate bed liner.
To facilitate the carrying of cargo in load-carrying beds, it is known to employ corrugations in the bed floor or in the portion of a bed liner that overlies the bed floor. Corrugations advantageously increase the strength and rigidity of the supporting surface on which cargo items are received. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a common corrugation arrangement used in vehicle load-carrying beds 10 is the provision of a plurality of longitudinally extending ridges 12 on a bed floor 14 that are spaced apart and parallel relative to one another. Each ridge 12 typically includes a raised support wall or top wall 16 which, at opposite side edges thereof, is elevated by a pair of spaced apart support walls or sidewalls 18 and 20. The sidewalls 18, 20 can flare or taper outwardly and downwardly for joinder to the bed floor 14. The top wall 16 has an upper surface 22 and a lower surface 24 which together define the top wall as having a constant thickness (i.e., the surfaces 22, 24 are parallel and spaced apart from one another). As shown, both the upper and lower surfaces 22, 24 of the top wall 16 of each conventional ridge 12 are substantially flat.
Another function of the ridges is to raise carried cargo items slightly up and off the bed floor. This prevents the cargo items from resting in any residual amounts of water (e.g., rainwater) or other debris remaining in the load-carrying bed. In effect, the raised support walls of the ridges, which are disposed in a common plane, together form a supporting surface for the carried cargo items. Absent tie-downs or other load restraining devices, the ridges do little to limit movement and shifting of the carried cargo items within the load-carrying bed. Moreover, the ridges are prone to wear and showing such wear as they often receive the most contact by cargo carried in the bed whether the cargo is one or more contained cargo items (e.g., boxed items) or loose material (e.g., rocks, mulch, etc.).